Music you've never heard….'til now! A blog of rare, hardly-heard or remembered pop, hip-hop, R&B, freestyle, dance and country music from the '70s to the 2000s. From one-hit wonders to no-hit wonders, this blog has it all!!
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Nikki Cleary (born Brittney Rose Cleary on May 11, 1988 in Albany, New York) is a former teen pop singer from the 2000s.
Nikki’s singing talent was discovered by her grandmother while they were at a karaoke hangout in her hometown. She was later entered in a local talent contest (which she won) and was invited by a local radio station to sing on-air. A few months later, Nikki’s family decided to move to Nashville, Tennesse in order to jump-start her music career. Nikki first gained success with the release of her first single, “I.M. Me.” After the song was posted on her website, kids began e-mailing MP3s of it back & forth. She became a common topic on internet message boards & in teen chat sessions. She also received fan mail from other countries such as Australia, Brazil, England, France & Germany. In 2002 (after two years of recording), Nikki released her debut album, “Everything I Wished For” (under her birth name Brittney Cleary) independently under the Free Falls Record label. The album managed to peak at #45 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart.
In the summer of 2002, Nikki signed a record deal with Jive Records where she was asked to change her name because at the time, they already had a Britney (pop singer Britney Spears) on their roster. In the summer of 2003, Nikki released her self-titled album. It’s unknown how or if the album ever made the charts at all. The songs from the album such as “Summertime Guys” and “1-2-3” received airplay on Radio Disney and appeared on television & movie soundtracks.
Nikki supported the album with mini concerts at malls & middle schools. She also performed on the Nickelodeon network variety show “All That.” In 2004, she was featured on the soundtrack to the film “Mean Girls” with the track, “Hated.”
After that, it seemed as if Nikki faded into obscurity, but she got married in 2009 & now has three children.
Madison Avenue was a dance\house music duo from Australia that consisted of producer\writer Andy Van Dorsselaer (also known as Andy Van) and singer-songwriter Cheyne Coates (born April M. Coates on September 6, 1970 in Melbourne, Australia).
Before she joined Madison Avenue, Cheyne was working as a choreographer and singer in Melbourne, Australia. She met Andy in a dance club.
Andy was the founder of the Vicious Vinyl record label & had remix credits for artists such as CDB and Tina Arena. He also won an ARIA award for his production work on Pendulum’s song “Coma.”
In 1998, the two of them began working with together mainly as writers & producers. They recorded their first single “Fly” which featured singer Kellie Wolfgram as the vocalist. In 1999, Madison Avenue released their first single, “Don’t Call Me Baby” which featured Cheyne on vocals because Andy preferred her version of the song even though it was initially used as the guide track for Kellie Wolfgram.
The song made its debut at #3 on the ARIA Singles chart on October 31, 1999 and three weeks later, it peaked at #2 where it stayed on the chart for six non-consecutive weeks. It was later certified triple platinum in Australia, denoting 200,0000 shipments of the single.
In the United Kingdom, “Don’t Call Me Baby” topped the charts & the single sold 400,000 copies. It also topped the charts in New Zealand and on the dance charts in Canada.
In the United States, the song peaked at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100, #20 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Top 40 chart, #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, #17 on Billboard’s Latin Tropical\Salsa Airplay chart, #22 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Airplay chart and topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart for a week in July of 2000. Madison Avenue’s follow-up single, “Who the Hell Are You” topped the ARIA Singles chart for two weeks. It also peaked at #10 on the U.K. Singles chart, #32 on the New Zealand Singles chart and topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart for a week, making it the duo’s second number-one dance hit.On October 2, 2000, the duo’s debut (and only album), “The Polyester Embassy” was released. The album peaked at #4 on the ARIA Albums chart (and was also certified Platinum), #63 on the Japan Albums chart and #74 on the UK Albums chart. The third single from the album, “Everything You Need” peaked at #6 on the ARIA Singles chart, #16 on the Finnish Singles chart, #33 on the UK Singles chart & #24 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play Singles chart.
The last single from the album, a cover version of the Little River Band’s song, “Reminiscing” peaked at #9 on the ARIA Singles chart. In 2001, Madison Avenue won the “Best Dance Artist” award at the International Dance Awards in Miami, Florida.
The duo created some controversy at the 14th Annual ARIA Awards when Cheyne began acting strangely during her live performance.
Halfway through her set, Cheyne beckoned to a backstage crew member to bring her a glass of water which she placed in the middle of the stage and sashayed around on stage with it during parts of the performance while drinking occasionally from the glass. Cheyne’s behavior led critics to believe that she was possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Since the performance, the duo’s visibility in Australia started to decline which effectively signalled the end of their career. In 2003, Madison Avenue disbanded.
Andy went on to create a dance music band called Vandalism. Cheyne pursued a solo music career, but these days, she resides in Frankston, Australia where she is a full-time mother and runs an interior design concern.
To see the music video for “Don’t Call Me Baby,” go to:
To see the music video for “Who the Hell Are You,” go to:
To see the music video for “Everything You Need,” go to:
Eden’s Crush was a pop girl group from the 2000s that consisted of members Ana Maria Lombo (born on May 8, 1978 in Medellin, Colombia), Ivette Sosa (born Ivette Martiza Sosa on September 15, 1976 in Edison, New Jersey), Maile Misajon (born on September 17, 1976 in Long Beach, California), Nicole Scherzinger (born Nicole Elikolani Valiente Prescovia Scherzinger on June 29, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii) & Rosanna Tavarez (born on February 10, 1977 in New York City, New York).
The group was formed in late 2000 after hundreds of girls competed on the WB reality series “Popstars” and was narrowed down to five finalists: Ivette, Nicole, Maile, Ana Maria & Rosanna over several prime-time episodes.
Due to the hours of network TV exposure that the group had received, Warner Bros.\Sire Records signed Eden’s Crush to a recording contract before the band was even named or had finalized its membership.
In March of 2001, the group’s debut single, “Get Over Yourself” became a hit, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in Canada. It also peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart & #31 on Billboard’s Top 40 Tracks chart. In May of 2001, Eden’s Crush released their debut and only album, “Popstars” which peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200, #9 on Billboard’s Top Internet Albums chart and #17 on Billboard’s Top Canadian Albums chart. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA.
In 2001, the group appeared on *NSync’s “Pop Odyssey” tour and Jessica Simpson’s “DreamChaser” tour. They also guest-starred on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Their follow-up single from the album, “Love This Way” received some radio airplay, but it failed to match the success of their previous single. By the end of 2002, London-Sire Records folded and Eden’s Crush went their separate ways.
Rosanna Tavarez went on to become a television host; these days, she is fully focused on teaching dance.
Ivette Sosa (now Ivette Sosa Dempsey) appeared in the 2003 film, “Chasing Papi” and starred in the on and off-Broadway plays, “Latinologues” in 2005 and “Yo Soy Latina” in 2006. These days, she works as a dance and theater instructor.
Ana Maria Lombo performs music under the name Annie Trousseau. Maile Misajon moved to Nashville, Tennessee, is married with three children and has a blog called Mother Is a Verb.
Nicole Scherzinger went on to find success with another girl group, The Pussycat Dolls. In the years since, she has released two solo albums, judged various reality television shows and has her own clothing lines & fragrance.
To see the music video for “Get Over Yourself,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “Love This Way,” go to:
Cherie (born Cyndi Almouzni on October 10, 1984 in Marseille, France) is a female pop\dance singer from the 2000s.
At the age of fourteen, Cherie won a local talent contest and entered in the national televised contest finals which was held in Paris, France. She was discovered by Sony BMG A&R Steve Allen after hearing her voice on a dance track.
Cherie signed a worldwide recording contract in the United States while she was continuing with her studies. In 2003, her song, “Betcha Never” was featured in the soundtrack for the film, “Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.”
In 2004, Cherie released her self-titled debut album on Lava Records. It’s unknown how or if the album made the charts at all.Her first single, “I’m Ready” peaked at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100, #33 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart, #10 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart & topped Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart for a week.
The follow-up single from the album, “Older Than My Years” peaked at #21 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
She was featured on the holiday album, “Not Another XMAS Album! An Alternative Christmas” with the track, “Merry Christmas Darling” which managed to peak at #33 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.
After that, it seemed as if Cherie had faded into obscurity, but in 2007, she resurfaced in the 2007 BBC selection for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest under her birth name, Cyndi Almouzni.
On March 17, 2007, Cyndi competed in the BBC Eurovision’s “Making Your Mind Up” contest which would decide who would represent the United Kingdom at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Finland. Cyndi sang the song “I’ll Leave My Heart” for the contest.
The host of the contest, Terry Wogan announced her as the winner while at the same time, the co-host Fearne Cotton announced that British dance group Scooch were also revealed to be the winners as well. After several seconds of confusion from both of the contestants, it was revealed that Scooch were the real winners of the contest.
According to the BBC, Cyndi received 47% of the votes while Scooch received 53% of the votes. Despite that, her song was entered into the OGAE Second Chance Contest 2007 competition where it came in second place.
Cyndi was planning to work on an album scheduled to be released in 2009, but nothing much has been heard about it. In 2012, she made a comeback on Groovenut’s EP “Lose Control.”
These days, Cyndi (who now goes under the name Cindy Alma) continues to be active in the music business.
Concept of One was a freestyle\dance-pop project formed by music producer Tony Moran after his last project The Latin Rascals ended. In 1989, Concept of One released their first single “Dance With Me” which managed to peak at #32 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart by the next year. In 1990, a second single “The Question” (featuring freestyle\dance singer Noel) peaked at #24 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
On July 16, 1993, Concept of One released their only self-titled album on Cutting Records. It’s unknown how or if the album charted at all. The last single from the project “So in Love” (featuring freestyle\dance singer Brenda K. Starr) didn’t make the charts.
After that, the project ended. These days, Tony Moran continues to produce music.
To see a fan-made video for “Dance With Me,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “The Question,” go to:
Edward Anthony Luis was a dance\R&B\hip-hop artist from the late ’80s\early ’90s. Not much information is given about him, but he was signed to Skyyline Records.
In 1989, his debut album “Sugaree” was released promotionally. It’s unknown how or if it charted.
The only singles released from the album were “Truly” and “Good For You” which also didn’t appear to make the charts.
After that, it seemed as if Edward has faded into obscurity. His whereabouts are unknown, but his album is available on iTunes.
Girl Talk was a freestyle\dance trio from the late ’80s that consisted of members Ivette, Jacqui and Lisa.
Not much information is given about them, but they were signed to Skyyline Records. In 1988, they released their only single “Dance With Me Baila Baila.” It’s unknown how or if the single made the charts at all.
After that, it seemed as if Girl Talk has faded into obscurity. It’s unknown what the members of the trio are up to these days.
To see a fan-made video for “Dance With Me Baila Baila,” go to:
Ian Foster (born in London, England) was a male R&B singer\songwriter from the late ’80s.
Not much information is given about him, but he was born to Jamaican parents & signed to MCA Records. In 1986, Ian released his debut single “Tell Me It’s True” which didn’t appear to chart at all. In 1987, he released his only self-titled album which didn’t appear to make the charts at all.
His follow-up single “Out for the Count” managed to peak at #84 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 6 weeks.
After that, it seemed as if Ian had faded into obscurity. Nothing much has been heard from him since.
To see a fan-made video for “Out for the Count,” go to:
To see a fan-made video for “Tell Me It’s True,” go to:
Soluna was a pop girl group from the 2000s that consisted of members America Olivo (born America Athene Olivo on January 5, 1978 in Van Nuys, California), Aurora Rodriguez, Christina “T” Lopez (born on April 18, 1981 in Ontario, California) and Jessica Castellanos.
The group’s name were the combination of the Spanish words “Sol” (which means “sun”) and “Luna” (which means “moon”).
The group formed in 1998 when Aurora and America (who became friends while they attended California Institute of the Arts) met up after a few years apart. The girls met with a friend who was a record producer and found Jessica. The three of them sang together, but wanted a fourth member to complete the group.
Music producer Nick Martinez recommended to the girls about a young girl (who was Christina) that he met while driving in Ontario, California where he stopped at a local auto body shop due to car trouble & saw a picture of Christina on the wall.
Christina’s father assured Nick that his daughter was a talented singer. After Christina sung the song “Amazing Grace” over the phone, she became the last member of the group. Once the group’s line-up was completed, they signed a record deal with DreamWorks Records. Their debut album was completed by the summer of 2001. During that same year, Soluna released their debut single, “Bring It To Me” which peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play Singles chart. Due to the events of September 11, 2001, the group decided to go in a different musical direction by focusing on promoting a power ballad as their next single with the song “For All Time.”
On February 12, 2002, the song was released to radio & managed to peak at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100, #33 on Billboard’s Top 40 Tracks chart, #29 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart & #17 on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart.
The remixes of the song managed to peak at #16 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Club Play Singles chart and #6 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart. On April 23, 2002, “For All Time” was released commercially along with an a cappella version of several patriotic songs (which was called “A Patriotic Medley”). On May 14, 2002, Soluna’s debut album, “For All Time” managed to peak at #17 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart. During that same year, they performed at the NAACP Image Awards and Elton John’s 10th annual Oscar gala.
In June of 2002, the music video for “For All Time” was directed by Bille Woodruff & was shot in both English & Spanish. The video made its debut on “Total Request Live” (or “TRL”) on July 24, 2002. During that time, Soluna toured with artists such as Marc Anthony & Enrique Inglesias as the opening act for their concerts. They also traveled to Puerto Rico & Mexico to promote their music. The third and final single from the album, “Monday Mi Amor” was released to radio on November 11, 2002. During its first week on the charts, the song was among the top 10 most-added tracks in the CHR\Pop category for radio. The dance remix for the song (by DJ Wildlife) peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot Dance\Club Breakout chart.
In December of 2002, the group appeared on the Nickelodeon TV series, “The Brothers Garcia.”
After the release of their third single, Soluna announced that they were working out a sitcom deal with the UPN network that was supposed to be based on their adventures in the music business. The pilot for their sitcom was shot on April 28, 2004 and was reviewed by UPN to be added to their Fall 2004 program line-up; however, the pilot was not picked up by the network.
During that same year, Soluna had been writing & recording tracks for their sophomore album (which was supposed to be a Spanish-language album). In May of 2004, they announced that they had recorded a duet with recording artist J. Roman on a song called “Where Are You?”
Despite the song receiving moderate radio airplay, J. Roman re-recorded the song with pop\R&B singer Natalie, but this version received little attention. In late 2004, Soluna disbanded, leaving on amiable terms and leaving the option of eventually reuniting.
These days, America Olivo is active in the entertainment business as an actress, appearing in various films and TV shows.
Christina Lopez (or “T” Lopez) continues to perform on stage, in television and radio as well. She currently has a podcast called Mama Morsels and is married with two daughters.
Jessica Castellanos went on to pursue a solo career and released several demos on her MySpace page. According to research, she resides in England with her husband and two daughters. It’s unknown what Aurora Rodriguez is currently up to these days.
To see a video for “Bring It To Me,” go to:
To see a video for “For All Time,” go to:
To see a video for “Por La Enterindad” (the Spanish-language version of “For All Time”), go to:
To see a video for “Monday Mi Amor,” go to:
As a bonus, here is a video of Soluna performing on “AOL Sessions” back in 2002:
Boyz N Girlz United was a pop group from the 2000s that consisted of members Robbie Carrico (born on November 13, 1981), Daniel Dix (born on May 11, 1980), Criss Ruiz (born on April 15, 1979) and Rina Mayo (born on April 25, 1981).
In 1999, the group signed a record deal with Wire Records. During that same year, they released their debut single, “That’s What You Get.” It’s unknown how or if the single charted at all. On June 20, 2000, Boyz N Girlz United released their self-titled debut album. It’s unknown how or if the album charted. Their follow-up single, “Messed Around” (which was written by J.C. Chasez from *NSYNC) peaked at #82 on the U.K. Singles chart.
From 1999 to 2001, the group opened up for Britney Spears on the U.S. leg of her “Baby One More Time” tour and the European leg of her “Oops I Did It Again” tour. They were also part of the “All That Music and More Festival” and headlined the “Generation WB Concert” at the Wichita River Festival in Wichita, Kansas along with Irish band Mytown.
In 2001, Boyz N Girl United disbanded; during that same year, Robbie Carrico became a member of a short-lived boy band trio called B-Factor.
In 2008, Robbie auditioned for the seventh season of “American Idol.” While on the show, Simon Cowell questioned his authenticity as a rock singer. He managed to make it to the Top 24, but was eliminated in the Top 20 after two weeks. According to research, it appears as if he is still active with his music career.
Criss Ruiz was pursuing a solo career and released some music on Reverbnation page. These days, it’s unknown what she is currently up to these days. It is also unknown what Rina Mayo and Daniel Dix are up to these days as well.
Nikki Cleary (born Brittney Rose Cleary on May 11, 1988 in Albany, New York) is a former teen pop singer from the 2000s.
Nikki first gained success with the release of her first single, “I.M. Me.” After the song was posted on her website, kids began e-mailing MP3s of it back & forth. She became a common topic on internet message boards & in teen chat sessions. She also received fan mail from other countries such as Australia, Brazil, England, France & Germany. 
In 2002 (after two years of recording), Nikki released her debut album, “Everything I Wished For” (under her birth name Brittney Cleary) independently under the Free Falls Record label. The album managed to peak at #45 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart.
In the summer of 2003, Nikki released her self-titled album. It’s unknown how or if the album ever made the charts at all. The songs from the album such as “Summertime Guys” and “1-2-3” received airplay on Radio Disney and appeared on television & movie soundtracks.
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